This is Pennsylvania Senate candidate Tom Smith. This afternoon he compared rape to having a child out of wedlock (sigh).

www.tomsmithforsenate.com

Here's some free advice for Republican Senate candidates: stop talking about rape! Even if a reporter tries to bait you into it with some sort of rape-y/abortion question, just say "my Republicanism guarantees that I will somehow fuck this up and come across looking like an insensitive prick. So no -- I will not answer your rape question."

Nope, Smith answered the question (sigh) -- and ultimately explained that having a child out of wedlock is "similar" to rape (double sigh).

Smith was attempting to explain his "no exceptions" opposition to abortion -- which is similar to Akin's -- at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon this afternoon. That's when he told a little story about his daughter.

"What that congressman said I do not agree with at all," Smith said. "He should have never said anything like that.

"I lived something similar to that with my own family," he went on to
say. "She chose life and I commend her for that. She knew my views but
fortunately for me ... she chose the way I thought. Now don't get me
wrong. It wasn't rape."

Smith was then asked if his daughter's
unwed pregnancy and rape were similar. "No, no, no. Put yourself in a
father's position, yes, I mean it is similar," he said.

Derp.

Smith then tried to shuck and jive his way out of the impending shit-storm he's likely created -- he followed up his rape is "similar" comment with some pro-life ramblings, all while insisting he didn't really mean rape is similar to the Godlessness of single-parenthood, despite saying just seconds before that "it is similar."

"No, I didn't not say that [the two are similar," he continued. "I said I went through a
situation (with a daughter). It's very, very difficult. But do I condone
rape? Absolutely not. But do I propose life, yes I do. I'm pro-life,
period.

"A life is a life and it needs protecting," he added.
"Who's going to protect it? We have to. I believe life begins at
conception. I'm not going to argue about the method of that conception.
It's life. And I'm pro-life. It's that simple."

We'll give Smith the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's talking about the decision to keep the child out of wedlock is similar to that of whether to keep a child who's the product of rape. If that's the case, his comment implies that per-marital sex is as evil an act as rape.

Either way, we will reiterate our advice for Republican Senate candidates: stop talking about rape!